SOFTBALL: Mistakes in seventh lead to loss for PCHS
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For six innings on Monday, Pinckneyville played mistake-free on defense and starting pitcher Jordan Koenegstein had allowed just four hits and a walk. In the top of the seventh, however, Anna-Jonesboro took advantage of a hit batsmen and an error on their way to a three-run inning to steal the victory 4-3 at Greg Hale Field.
After hitting the first batter in the seventh, Koenegstein got the ground ball she needed, but an error at shortstop put two runners on for A-J. A single, a squeeze play and a double followed, each driving in a run as the Lady Wildcats erased a 3-1 deficit.
"We played extremely well for six innings, then we started the seventh inning and hit the first batter, make an error, the only one we make all game," said PCHS head coach Mike Cheek, "(then A-J) did a nice job of short-gaming, doing what I would call the safe things to get the runners across the plate."
"They did what they needed to do to win, and we didn't do what we needed to do to win."
Fallon Clayton doubled and scored in the first to give A-J a 1-0 lead, but the Lady Panthers answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the inning on hits by Melia Bathon, Taylor Cheek and Shersty Stanton, who tied the game with an RBI.
In the bottom of the third, Saturday's hero Dani Schoenbacher led off with a single, then advanced to second base on a passed ball before scoring on Bathon's base hit. T. Cheek followed with an RBI double and Pinckneyville grabbed a 3-1 edge.
Koenegstein settled in on the rubber and sent down six in a row at one point in the game, and twelve out of fourteen between the third and sixth innings.
"I thought Jordan pitched extremely well," M. Cheek said, "like I've said before she's not a strikeout pitcher, she's got to put the ball where they're going to hit it to us. For most of the game she had pretty good defense behind her, I thought we made some pretty nice plays out in the field."
After the Lady Wildcats' rally in the top of the seventh, the Lady Panthers did what they could to respond in the bottom half, but Schoenbacher was robbed on a hard-hit line drive right back at the pitcher to strand Ashley Maxey as the tying run.
"I told (Schoenbacher) I can't fault that," said M. Cheek. "I don't think she could hit a ball any harder than she did."
Bathon (2-3, 2 R, RBI), T. Cheek (2-3, RBI), Schoenbacher (1-4, R), Stanton (1-3, RBI), Kala Emling (1-3), Taylor Howard (1-3) and Gabby Doerflein (1-1) had hits for Pinckneyville.
The Lady Panthers (10-8, 1-6) face another tough SIRR Mississippi foe on Tuesday when they host Nashville. PCHS will take on Murphysboro at home on Wednesday then travel to Du Quoin on Thursday.
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